Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to CTOnews.com Flash Express on June 29, Meituan issued an announcement today to acquire all interests beyond Lightyear (Beijing Lightyear Technology Co., Ltd. And Light Year AI Limited) after trading on June 29, 2023.

Meituan's explanation for mergers and acquisitions in the announcement is that through the acquisition of leading AGI technology and talent, there is an opportunity to enhance its competitiveness in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry.

Meituan said that after the completion of the merger and acquisition, the Lightyear team will continue to explore and research in the field of large models.

According to reports, the total cost of the acquisition includes $234 million in cash (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 1.694 billion yuan), debt commitment of 366.924 million yuan and 1 yuan in cash. Upon completion of the delivery of the transfer agreement (mutually conditional), Meituan will hold 100% of the interests of the group light-years away.

It is reported that light years away is China's leading AGI (General artificial Intelligence) innovator, founded and controlled by Wang Huiwen, co-founder of Meituan, former director of the company and related person.

According to the announcement, the total net cash position of the group light-years away is about $285 million (currently about 2.063 billion yuan).

The interests held by AI Age (the holding company of Mr. Wang Huiwen as founder), Qimai (as co-investor) and Sequoia Capital China (as co-investor) outside overseas Lightyear refer to the overseas Lightyear shares subscribed by each of them in the previous round of financing in May 2023. As a result, the original acquisition costs of foreign light-year interests held by Qimai and Sequoia Capital China, each as co-investors, were $5 million and $28 million, respectively. As Mr. Wang Huiwen is the founder light-year away, there is no related original acquisition cost.

The announcement said that through the acquisition of leading AGI technology and talent, the company has the opportunity to enhance its competitiveness in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry and better fulfill the group's mission of "helping everyone eat better and live a better life."

In March this year, Wang Xing, founder of Meituan, posted a post on moments, announcing that he would participate in the round An investment of Wang Huiwen's start-up company "light-year away" in his personal capacity and become a director.

In fact, Wang Huiwen and Wang Xing are roommates of Tsinghua University. Wang Huiwen joined Meituan on December 18, 2010 and worked with Wang Xing for 10 years before retiring from Meituan in January 2020.

On February 13, Wang Huiwen announced the establishment of Beijing Lightyear beyond Technology Co., Ltd., with an individual contribution of US $50 million and a valuation of US $200 million. Prior to this, co-founder Wang Huiwen left the post for medical treatment and recuperation due to health reasons.

Earlier, sources said that a team of product and technical personnel was completed within two months light-year away, attracting a number of top experts and entrepreneurs in the field of artificial intelligence. At present, the size of the team is about 70.

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